February 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI Abdicates

February 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI announces he will resign the Papacy, effective on February 28. He cites a "lack of strength of mind and body." He was 85 years old.

He was the 1st Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415, and the 1st to do so by his own choice since Celestine V in 1294.

He was given the title of Pope Emeritus, and retained the right to be addressed as Your Holiness.

Benedict had become Pope on April 19, 2005, upon the death of John Paul II. Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Bavaria, southern Germany, in 1927, he was drafted into the Hitler Youth at the age of 14. He was eventually held as a prisoner of war by the U.S. Army, and released. There has never been any serious evidence that he committed war crimes while serving the Nazis.

He eventually served as Archbishop of Munich, and was Dean of the College of Cardinals when John Paul II died, making him an international betting favorite to be the new Pope. When this proved to be correct, he choice his regnal name in memory of St. Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Benedictine monasteries; and Pope Benedict XV, who reigned during World War I and worked for peace in its aftermath.

He proved to be a more conservative Pope than had been seen in a long time. Certainly, more so than John XXIII, Paul VI, and both John Pauls. I'd seen pictures of him in full regalia, with a smile that made him look almost sinister, like a villain in a James Bond film.

In April 2008, he visited America, including New York on the 20th, visiting the site of the World Trade Center and delivering a Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium. The crowds were respectful, but he never engendered the kind of love that John Paul II got on his American visits (including at Yankee Stadium in 1979), or that Paul VI got (he delivered the 1st Papal Mass in the Western Hemisphere at Yankee Stadium in 1965).

On April 16, 2021, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI celebrated his 94th birthday. He is the longest-lived person to have been the Pope.

On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope, taking the name Francis. He has proved considerably more popular, all over the world.

I was 8 years old when Paul VI died. I have little memory of him. And John Paul I reigned for only a month before he died, so I don't remember much about him. John Paul II and Francis both went around the world looking as if they enjoyed meeting people and spreading the word of a God of love. I never got that feeling from looking at Benedict XVI. It wasn't just the fact that he didn't stay on the Papal throne for the rest of his life that made him an anomaly.

UPDATE: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on December 31, 2022, at the age of 95.

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February 11, 2013 was a Monday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 8 NBA games played that day: 

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers, 89-84 in overtime at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-90 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Boston Celtics, 94-91 at the Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center) in Charlotte.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks, 105-101 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-92 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons, 105-86 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 103-89 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-90 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

And there were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks, 6-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-1 at the Scottrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Shane Doan scored the winning goal, with 59 seconds left in overtime.

* And the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames, 2-1 in a shootout at the Saddledome in Calgary.